Denver Barkey’s second goal of the game won it in overtime as the London Knights edged the Windsor Spitfires 4-3 at Budweiser Gardens on Family Day afternoon in London, Ont.
Ryan Winterton was London’s overtime hero in Sarnia, Ont., two days earlier and made a play 25 seconds into OT as he saucered a perfect pass to Barkey at the left post. The Knights second-year forward knocked in his 19th of the year to bring an explosion of noise from the 9,036 in attendance.
The win allowed London to take first place in the Western Conference. They share it in points with Windsor but for now, the Knights have the edge with 39 victories to Windsor’s 37.
London has also won two of three games with the Spitfires this year with three more still on the schedule between the two clubs.
The game featured everything two quality teams can throw at each other. Ice was hard to come by. Shots and passes were tough to get through legs and sticks.
Through 40 minutes, the score sat tied 1-1.
Jacob Julien and Alex Christopoulos traded goals in the opening period but former teammates and fellow overage goalies Brett Brochu and Matt Onuska shut things down completely in the middle period.
Julien worked a give-and-go with Max McCue for his sixth goal of the season at the 2:47 mark, and then Ryan Abraham kept a puck in for Windsor and it eventually popped out front and Christopoulos buried it for his 38th of the year.
The score stayed even until a Windsor power play produced a pair of goals as part of three goals in 59 seconds.
The first came on a Barkey breakaway with 5:19 remaining as Barkey snapped a low shot past Onuska short-handed.
The puck dropped and the Spitfires’ man advantage continued. Then 24 seconds later, Michael Renwick snapped a shot high into the top corner and Windsor was back in front.
Julien’s second of the game drew London even again only 35 seconds after that as Max McCue found Julien in front.
London won 44 out of 72 faceoffs. Julien was 8-2. Sean McGurn was 18-4.
McCue, Winterton and Brody Crane each had a pair of assists.
The Knights outshot the Spitfires 30-27.
Streak-mates
Zach Bowen and Brett Brochu are teammates and they are also streak-mates. When you look at the record for longest winning streak by a 16 or 17-year-old goalie in Ontario Hockey League history, you find their names in the top three. The pair of Knights goaltenders almost ended up locked in spots two and three before London’s three-goal third-period comeback against the Sarnia Sting on Feb. 17. The eventual Knights win pushed Bowen’s streak to 15 in a row. He is now just one victory behind Matthew Villalta of the Soo Greyhounds, who won 16 consecutive games in 2016-17. Brochu set the record for most wins by a 16 or 17-year-old rookie in 2019-20 and won 13 straight games in the process.
Beyond regulation
London’s overtime win over Sarnia on Feb. 17 gave them an overall winning percentage of .963 beyond regulation. The Knights are 6-1 in OT. Their only loss came in their first trip to overtime this season back on Oct. 14 against Mississauga. Logan Mailloux has two OT winners. Landon Sim, George, Diaco, and Ryan Winterton have the others. London is also one of four teams that has yet to lose in a shootout. Kitchener, Mississauga and Hamilton are the others. The Rangers are only on that list because they haven’t been to a shootout in 2022-23. The Bulldogs and the Steelheads are each 2-0. The Knights are 5-0.
Up next
One more point against the Sarnia Sting will clinch the first-ever Battle of the 402 series between the Knights and Sarnia.
The teams will meet on Friday, February 24 at 7 p.m. at Budweiser Gardens.
London is 3-1 against the Sting in the six-game regular season series. They have six points overall. Sarnia has three.
The first team to seven points will take home the inaugural title.
Coverage will start at 6:30 p.m. on 980 CFPL, at http://www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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